The St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau was established by Buchanan County voters in the spring of 1993 with the purpose of "advertising and promoting tourism in Buchanan County, Missouri." The CVB is governed by a board of seven members and is a political subdivision of the Buchanan County Commission. The St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau is an organization that will develop and implement marketing programs designed to maximize the economic impact of visitor dollars to Buchanan County. In 2012, Buchanan County generated $158.6 million dollars in tourism related economic-impact according to the Missouri Department of Revenue, up $7 million from 2011.